Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Our church, Broadview Heights Baptist Church is having a Holiness and Revival Conference this week. One of the themes of preaching at church over the past few weeks as well as a theme of the conference that has convicted me is the idea of truly resting in Jesus, depending on his grace and the Holy Spirit for all of my needs.

Resting does not come easily for me. I am more likely to work harder and harder on a difficult area of my life than I am to look to Jesus and his strength and power to enable me to accomplish the mountain of tasks often before me as a homeschool mom.

I am learning now to ask each morning and throughout everyday "Am I working on my own strength and power or the power of the Holy Spirit within me?"

RefrainJesus, I am resting, resting,In the joy of what Thou art;I am finding out the greatnessOf Thy loving heart.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,Vaster, broader than the sea!O, how marvelous Thy goodness,Lavished all on me!Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,Know what wealth of grace is Thine,Know Thy certainty of promise,And have made it mine.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

I admit I was a little leery of a Bible study specifically meant to be application focused. I feared it might be too much focused on "me" like many studies I have picked up. I tend to want a study to teach me more about God and his attributes and his redemptive plan for man. This study did just that.

I was pleased that the commentary section of the study was actually quite good and detailed. It was nice to have the Scripture text on the same page as the extensive commentary. Some nice charts and tables were included as well.

I especially appreciated that the editors commented when certain changes were made in the New Living Translation from the original manuscripts. For instance, the translation often changed "brothers" to "brothers and sisters".

The questions in the study section of the book are divided into 13 sections. Some are questions from the text while others encourage the participant to reflect on his or her life. Both types of questions are helpful and should make the meaning of the text more memorable.

I liked the small size of the book which made it very easy to carry around as I was completing the study.

I believe I will go through this study with my 9-year old son once we begin our homeschool year. He is ready for more than just Bible stories at this point and I believe we will both enjoy going through the study together.

In summary, the Hebrews Life Application book is a good Bible study for anyone who wants to dig deeper and find the treasures written in the Bible to help us to glorify God by living our life as followers of the true Christ written of in the Bible.[[ASIN:1414325649 Hebrews (Life Application Bible Studies: NLT)]]